Greenpeace activists board coal ship bound for Kingsnorth power station

Police arrest six as four other protesters board ship, saying they have enough supplies to last several days

Haroon Siddique
guardian.co.uk, Monday 22 June 2009 15.01 BST

Six people were arrested when climate change campaigners boarded a coal freighter and stopped it unloading its cargo at the planned site of the new Kingsnorth power station today.
Four protesters remain on board the ship, 10 metres up the foremast, and are in a stand-off with police on the deck of the ship.
"The coal hasn't been able to be unloaded – that's what we set out to do here," Sarah Shoraka, one of the activists in the crow's nest on the foremast said.
The 31-year-old said the protesters had enough food and water to allow them to remain on the vessel for several days.
"I think we can stay for a while, as long as it's safe to do so," she added.
"In the short term, we are trying to keep the ship from reaching the power station – it's got enough coal to release thousands of CO2 into the atmsophere.
"In the long term, it's about stopping the dirtiest power station for 30 years being built in the UK.
"There's a growing coalition against a coal station, and we're hoping we'll get more supporters."
Greenpeace said 10 activists had climbed on board just after midnight as the ship travelled along the River Medway to Kingsnorth, in Kent.
They used rigid inflatable speedboats to pull up alongside and attached climbing ladders to scale the 15-metre hull after flagging the vessel down with flares and banners. Others swam in the path of the ship to prevent it docking.
Greenpeace claims the new Kingsnorth power station would would pump 6m tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere every year, making a mockery of the government's claims that it is committed to tackling climate change.
Shoraka said police had boarded the ship and tried to persuade the protesters to come down, but emphasised that relations with officers had been "amicable" so far. "We don't have a problem with them," she said.
The Kent police assistant chief constable, Gary Beautridge, described the situation as "difficult and potentially dangerous".
He said officers were monitoring the protesters from a safe distance "in order to minimise the risk to life".
"A number of protesters' RIBs [rigid-hulled inflatable boats] are in the water at Kingsnorth and a similar situation applies – that is, we are monitoring their actions from a safe distance," he said.
The six protesters arrested are being held on charges of conspiring to commit criminal damage and having an unauthorised presence on a ship under Section 104 of the Merchant Seaman Act.
The arrests came as two women lodged a complaint to the IPCC over their arrest and detention during protests at Kingsnorth last year.
Video footage shows Val Swain and Emily Apple being bundled to the ground by police after challenging officers for not displaying their badge numbers.